


Touch

by doridoripawaa



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Edelgard is GAY, F/F, LGBTQ Female Character, Rain, Sapphic September
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-10-21 09:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20691581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doridoripawaa/pseuds/doridoripawaa
Summary: Byleth's attempt to help Edelgard relax takes a horribly wrong turn.





	Touch

"Are you..."  
  
Byleth didn't even need to finish her question to get her answer. As Edelgard doubled over in laughter in response to her touch, she already knew.  
  
"...ticklish here?"  
  
"Pffft, ahaha! My teacher, my dear teacher, what are you-- ahahaha!"  
  
Byleth's fingers danced around the usually stern emperor's slender neck and underneath her arms.  
  
"Dorothea once tried this on me," she explained matter-of-factly. "Although, I did not react," she confessed. "But you seem tense lately, so I thought it would be worth a try."  
  
"Well," Edelgard managed to utter between giggles, "I wish I could say the sa--"  
  
Byleth's hands had traveled to her waist, which was another spot that Dorothea had targeted to tried to elicit a reaction out of the stoic professor. Byleth had not even flinched at Dorothea's attempt, but clearly her own gentle, flitting touch had an effect on Edelgard.  
  
Unfortunately, it was not a reaction that either of them had desired.  
  
With an ear-splitting shriek, Edelgard jerked backward. Byleth lifted her hands immediately as shock and panic coursed through her veins. Did she press too hard? Did she strike a nerve? An injury?  
  
She could only watch in a perplexed, petrified daze as the white-haired young woman before her collapsed onto the floor. As her headdress clumsily fell from its perch on her head, her snowy locks billowed out like a cloud and tumbled down her back like an incoming storm. She curled up into a ball on the ground, clutching her knees in tightly to her chest.  
  
Byleth took a deep, shaky breath before daring to step forward. "E...del...gard?" She whispered the girl's name, trying to approach as carefully as possible so as not to startle her. Her green eyes flashed with horror as she came near enough to notice that Edelgard was shivering. Her entire body was racked with sobs, and her lips were parted in a silent moan that conveyed more agony than any words could. Gingerly, the usually stoic professor reached out her hand. She wanted to steady her. Comfort her.  
  
"D-do not..." Edelgard's white lips moved very slowly, but her raspy words were laced with authority. "Touch... me..."  
  
Was that an order? A request? Or perhaps a plea?  
  
Immediately Byleth pulled her hand backward in silent obedience. Shivers began to run down her own spine as Edelgard suddenly cried out. The usually proud, intimidating, determined emperor, who walked with her head high and would take down the goddess and saints themselves to realize her ambitions, now lay before her as a completely vulnerable child. She had wrapped her knees in close to her chest, and she rocked gently back and forth as moans and whimpers occasionally slipped past her usually guarded lips. With her long white hair flowing out and around her body, she almost looked like a feeble little rabbit. A piece of prey.  
  
And the scarlet of her dress was eerily reminiscent of a pool of blood in which prey may lay floundering in pain.  
  
"I cannot..."  
  
Byleth snapped back to attention as Edelgard began to speak once more.  
  
"I cannot... die... here...."  
  
The former mercenary swallowed the lump rising in her throat. She was not the type to normally be paralyzed by any type of situation, and now was not the time to suddenly become a helpless bystander. Edelgard needed her help. What kind of professor would she be if she left her former student to struggle alone? What right would she have to stand by Edelgard's side?  
  
"Edelgard."  
  
Edelgard did not look up, but her rapid, ragged breathing seemed to slow down a little when she heard Byleth's voice. Byleth tried to sound as light as possible. She was not here as a professor; she was here as a friend.  
  
"El."  
  
Maybe even more than a friend.  
  
"Let's get you out of here, okay?"  
  
With that loving, caring, affectionate pet name ringing in her ears, Edelgard seemed to snap out of whatever stupor had incapacitated her. With blinding speed powered by her pure adrenaline, she leaped to her knees and flung herself at Byleth. "My teacher," she weeped. "Make it... make it stop!" With a heart-shattering wail, she buried her face into Byleth's firm shoulder and continued to scream and sob. Her tears flowed freely, and the stream of tears was so strong that Byleth could even begin to feel the fabric on her shoulder become damp. The water in her soaked shirt began to seep into her flesh. Her bones. Her very being.  
  
Desperate to comfort her, the green-haired woman lifted her arms and tried to wrap them around Edelgard. However, the second that her skin came into contact with the shaking emperor, she grew rigid as a board. Byleth immediately pulled her arms away, desperate not to send Edelgard into a deeper state of despair than she currently was. What thoughts were racing through her mind? What nightmares were resurfacing? What atrocities was she reliving?  
  
"El," she whispered into the blonde's ear. That name once again had a soothing effect on the girl, whose violent, body-wracking sobs had descended into sniffles. "Let's get some fresh air."

* * *

  
"Breathe in," Byleth instructed. "Hold it. One, two... good. Now breathe out."  
  
The pair was hobbling through the hallway, trying to navigate to the outdoors. Edelgard walked very slowly, leaning against the wall with one hand as she went. Her normally imposing, powerful steps would echo around the stone building to announce her commanding presence. Today, however, these broken clacks sounded more like the dripping of water, scattered but leaving a powerful impression with each heavy, sorrowful drop.  
  
"Do you think the sunlight will be lovely?" Byleth asked casually, trying to sound as gentle as she could. Detecting and conveying emotions was not her strong suit, so she could not be sure that her efforts were actually assisting Edelgard as she strived to recover from her episode. But judging from the fact that the blonde's breathing had evened out and that she was standing, albeit with support, Byleth had to hope that she had managed to aid her by at least a smidge.  
  
"I like... being outdoors," Edelgard murmured. Her face was flushed and her lips had regained some color, much to Byleth's relief. At least someone's heart was beating normally and pumping blood. "I do not... like being cooped up."  
  
"Of course," Byleth mumbled. She would never forget her conversation that the two had shared in Edelgard's quarters five years ago. At least, she did not think she could ever manage to forget the horrors and tragedies that Edelgard had related to her about her past. She did not think she could ever erase that brief moment of vulnerability, of humanity, from her mind.  
  
The weakness that she had entrusted to Byleth, and Byleth alone.  
  
A soft rumble sounded overhead, and the corners of the former mercenary's lips turned into a frown. The last thing they needed right now was a storm.  
  
Goddess or not, Byleth apparently had no control over the weather, because as soon as they stepped outside into the garden, she realized with a pang that the eerie reverberations that resembled dripping water were, in fact, dripping water. Pouring, in fact.  
  
The hope that had brought a sparkle to Edelgard's lavender eyes now died out like a fizzing ember.  
  
"Edelgard..." Byleth wanted to reassure her. At least they were outside. At least she could hear nature. At least... at least someone was here with her.  
  
Was she worthy of being that someone?  
  
"This... this is fine," Edelgard murmured, her voice as cold as the piercing breeze that slapped icy rain drops against their skin. She took a couple of steps forward, exposing herself to the storm. A low rumble sounded in the distance. With the darkened sky behind her, Byleth could only make out Edelgard's silhouette as she walked farther away.  
  
"In this chaos... nobody will hear me scream."  
  
A crack of lightning split the sky, and for a brief moment, Byleth was able to focus her eyes on Edelgard's face.  
  
She was smiling, but was that truly rain that trickled down her cheeks?  
  
As the thunder followed that bright flash a moment later, Edelgard threw her head back and let out a piercing wail. Another bolt of lightning appeared as if in response to her cry, and when a clap of thunder followed it naturally, Edelgard screeched once again. "Make it stop!" she cried. "Death to Crests! Death to the Church! Death to this cruel, twisted world!"  
  
She suddenly whirled around to face Byleth. Her former professor did not even need the illumination of lightning to see the fire that burned in her lilac eyes, lighting up her entire face with passion and fierce determination.  
  
"I am the Flame Emperor, and I will burn this world to the ground. I will rebuild it anew from the ashes. I will..."  
  
The storm began to die down. The wind continued to whip rain drops around the air, splashing against their hair and armor but no longer quite reaching their hearts. The thunder sounded in the distance once again, moving further away.  
  
The strong gales billowing around them suddenly brought a strong force into Byleth's arms. Edelgard, like a raindrop, had crashed into Byleth's chest and buried her face into her former professor's chest. Her wet cheeks and eyelashes dripped onto Byleth's exposed skin, and the green-haired woman simply stood there in a daze. Hesitantly, she lifted her hand to pat Edelgard on the head.  
  
This time, the emperor did not pull away.  
  
"El," Byleth whispered. "El, El, El."  
  
"My teacher..." Edelgard lifted her head to gaze up into those comforting green eyes. Eyes that gave her something- someone- to believe in. "I will..."  
  
"El," Byleth shushed her gently. "I know. And I will be here beside you."  
  
She ran her fingers through Edelgard's white hair until the girl began to calm down. Finally, Edelgard lifted her hands and rested them upon Byleth's breast. "I'll be so impressive that your heart will jump out of your chest."  
  
Byleth barely stifled a chuckle. "We both bear the flames, Edelgard. You will not walk this path alone." She pulled Edelgard into a tight hug, and she smiled when the emperor did not pull away.  
  
A single tear rolled down her cheek as she whispered, "I was born with this Crest for one reason.

To stand by your side."  



End file.
